I’ve said pretty much all there is to say on the matter. The
people of Britain
had the opportunity to change direction and seek a more equitable society, but
they chose to go the other way. That’s their right.
The big irony, however, is Scotland. A few months ago the
Scots voted to remain part of the UK
and continue to be subject to the Westminster
government. Yesterday they voted in droves for the Scottish Nationalist Party,
thereby effectively wiping the Labour Party off the political map. In so doing they
handed the Tories an overall majority on a plate, and ensured that the Westminster government
would be formed by their least favoured party. No doubt they voted with their hearts, which is
their right, but they’ve shot themselves well and truly in the foot. What a sublime irony that the SNP's success has resulted in the Scots living under an un-moderated right wing government.
For me personally there is no comfort to be taken from the fact that my prediction in 2010 has been proved right. I said then that if the Liberal Democrats entered a coalition with the Tories they would be committing political suicide. They did so anyway. Yesterday morning they had 57 MPs at Westminster. Now they have 8, and appear to be almost finished as a political force. No comfort at all; I’ve never been so depressed by the result of a
General Election.
2 comments:
I don't think I truly understood the gravity of the election results in the UK until one of my friends likened it to George W. Bush winning the presidency in the US. Then I thought to myself, "Ouch." Is it any comfort that the most conservative British politicians are still less conservative (and crazy) than their American counterparts?
Everyone seemed to agree yesterday that a majority was very, very unlikely to happen. What happened?
The irony you describe for the Scots seems similar to that experienced by people who voted for Ralph Nader here in the US in the election of 2000 - i.e. a vote for the most liberal candidate that ended up handing the victory to the most conservative. Do you think the results of this election will benefit the Scots in the long term?
Couldn’t we talk about Bronze Age axes instead? Oh, all right. Your points:
a. Some little comfort, I suppose. It’s odd that I’ve been thinking all day about your upcoming Presidential election. I remember a political commentator in Britain once saying that even Democrats would be regarded as conservative by European standards, and from what I’ve seen of the Republicans… I still don’t see what the objection to Obamacare is. If the system insists on having an aggressive and heartless free market economy, then it seems to me that the system is morally obliged to take care of the losers. There are always losers in that sort of system, whether by birth, accident, or just bad luck. I have the impression that it all comes down to this prevailing belief in the American Dream – that everybody can be prosperous as long as they’re prepared to work hard. But what if there aren’t the jobs, or the jobs pay such a pittance that the workers can’t keep up in a world that demands you spend more and more money just to tread water?
b. The pre-election opinion polls were all showing a hung parliament with the likelihood of a small majority for Labour. Since it was obvious that the SNP were going to clean up in Scotland, the prospect was raised of a pact between them and Labour. I would have welcomed that because the SNP are more liberal/socialist than the main parties in Britain, and I felt the country needed pulling in that direction. Cameron latched onto it and began scaremongering, calling it ‘a chilling prospect’ and claiming it was what would happen despite Milliband’s denials. (I think Milliband was too passive and conciliatory in the run up to the election, and you might know that he resigned this morning, as I expected he would when I saw the result.) Maybe that was what threw the floaters behind the Tories. Nevertheless, there is still some consternation over the inaccuracy of the polls, and the Polls Commission has now ordered an enquiry. There is some suggestion of ‘bias’, although what sort of bias I don’t know. Nobody ever asked me how I was going to vote.
c. I’m interested in what the Scots’ reaction will be to the result and the irony contained therein. I wonder whether there will now be a push for another independence referendum. I said in the blog once that Scottish politics seem to be more people-focussed than Westminster politics, which is why, I suppose, the Scots have never been friends with the Tories. Tory ideology is more about wealth, privilege, business interests, and maintaining the illusion of Britain as a world economic power. This seems to suit a lot of the English, but the Scots seem to be more homely and humane. That’s my take on it, anyway. So no, I can’t see a Tory government helping the Scots any, unless it’s to push them over the line to independence.
Are you sure you don’t want to talk about Bronze Age axes? And how are you, dear Maddie? It’s been a long time and I’ve missed you.
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